Super Mario Kart is a go-kart racing video game published for Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in August 1992 in Europe and North America. The game sold eight million copies worldwide and became the third best-selling SNES game of all time. The game was later on ported for Nintendo’s Virtual Console Wii in Japan in June 2009 and in North America in November 2009. The game was released in April 2010 in Europe.
The player takes control of the main characters from the Mario series. There are eight total characters, each with different capabilities and skills. The player races against computer-controlled characters in multi-race cups. There are three difficulty levels.
Yoshi Circuit is the third racecourse of the Star Cup in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The course is unique in that it is shaped like Yoshi himself, making it the only track in the Mario Kart series to be shaped after a playable character. Many turns are in the course, including a particularly sharp hairpin turn located at Yoshi's 'tail'.
The gameplay offers speed and offensive boosting power-ups which the player can use to take advantage of. Players can also race against the clock in a Time Trial mode. There is also a multi-player mode where players race against each other one-on-one. There is also a Match Race mode. Battle Mode is another option for multiplayer. In this one the player can defeat rivals with power-ups or destroying balloons.
The eight characters of the game are Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong Jr., Koopa Troopa and Toad. The characters have their own skills, top speed, acceleration and handling. Each character has its power-ups. Yoshi drops eggs while Donkey Kong Jr. throws bananas.
The graphics are great and were considered “detailed” by the Nintendo Magazine System and also as “spectacular” considering the period when the game was released.
The popular game was followed by several releases and most of them were hits and successes. Mario Kart 64 was released in 1997 for Nintendo 64. The second follow-up was Mario Kart Super Circuit, released four years after the first sequel for Game Boy Advance. Mario Kart Double Dash was also released for GameCube in 2003. Mario Kart DS was released for Nintendo DS in 2005 and was the first one to include multi-player capabilities via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This one was very popular and sold 7.83 million units around the world, becoming the best-selling handheld racing game. The version for Wii was released in 2008.
The gameplay features advanced maneuvers such as hopping and power sliding. The second maneuver allows a kart to maintain its speed while turning corners, but executing the move too long will cause the kart to spin.
Super Mario Kart was a hit on the market when released. It received a Player’s Choice after selling one million copies. The game went to salve eight million copies worldwide. GameRankings and MobyGames give an average of 90 percent while GameStats and TopTenReviews offer average over 80 percent.
Overall rating: 8
THE BASICS:
![Mario Mario](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125860730/288152878.jpg)
![Super Mario Kart Double Dash Isohunt Super Mario Kart Double Dash Isohunt](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125860730/361637951.jpg)
It's Mario Kart tag-team style, with one character behind the wheel and the second chucking turtle shells, banana peels, and whatever else comes along courtesy of those spinning, question-marked power-up containers. You can switch drivers right on the fly, and since both characters can hold an item, there's a whole new layer of depth to the combatracing metagame we all know and...sniff...love.
HOW WAS IT?
Very good, thanks, especially when hooked up to other Cubes for LAN play (you can connect up to eight systems via broadband adapters and hubs). After selecting a pair of racers (there are 16 total), you pick one of three karts. In the version I played, some karts are available only to certain characters, and all have somewhat different handling. Aside from the usual roster of power-ups from earlier Mario Kart games, there are character-specific special items like an enormous Chain Chomp, which is perfect for clearing the road ahead.As for the racing, it was a little slower than expected-- even in the 150cc class--although that could be because the brief time I had on the stick wasn't enough to figure out how to get a boost using the powerslide. There's gotta be a way.
Overall rating: 8.5